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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. race — a contest
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. race — the arms race
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. plane — a tool
  7. march — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cold — an illness
  10. race — humankind
  11. board — a committee
  12. content — happy
  13. march — the month
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — to get on
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — not warm
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. content — the amount
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com